Saint Matthias Anglican Church becomes Saint Antonios Orthodox Church

[Ромејац]

It took almost three years of renovations to transform the church

 

Art lines the inside of the dome inside Saint Antonios Orthodox Church

 

Who doesn't love a good before and after?

That was my thought when I first started covering the renovation of Saint Matthias Anglican Church into Saint Antonios Eastern Orthodox Church.

After close to three years of renovations, the Lebanese Orthodox Church held its first Sunday service last weekend.

There is now enough space for the growing congregation of more than 200 families.

Here's a look back at all of the work:

 

Before

 

 

After

 

Before

 

After

 

Part of what makes this church's transformation unique is how Saint Antonios decided to preserve some of the Anglican elements, like the stained glass windows.

Many of the windows are dedicated to former parishioners of Saint Matthias and their loved ones.

 

The stained glass windows were part of Saint Matthias Anglican Church

 

Many of the stained glass windows are dedicated to the loved ones of Saint Matthias Anglican Church

 

Another interesting part of the transformation is how Eastern Christian art — as is seen on the inside of the dome of the church and on the chandeliers — is next to Western Christian art.

 

Eastern Christian Artwork on a chandelier at Saint Antonios

 

Artwork on the inside of the dome of the church reflects the orthodox style

 

Perhaps the biggest change to the church was trading in the steeple for the domes.

We were there to capture that moment:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2459498376/

Saint Antonios will continue to operate their original church across the street for smaller services to be held throughout the week.

 

The original Saint Antonios across the street from the new church will stay open

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/saint-matthias-anglican-saint-antonios-orthodox-1.3321730